


old soul

by prxnce_rxman



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan, The Trials of Apollo - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Background Relationships, Gay Rights, Implied/Referenced Character Death, M/M, Scars, Supportive Will Solace, Trans Nico di Angelo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-16
Updated: 2021-03-16
Packaged: 2021-03-25 05:33:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30084237
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/prxnce_rxman/pseuds/prxnce_rxman
Summary: listen, i'm gonna be entirely honest. i don't know why i wrote this. the thought of writing it has been plaguing me for a while so i finally decided to just get it over with.(lowercase intended.)
Relationships: Nico di Angelo & Will Solace
Kudos: 3





	old soul

will woke up at five in the morning, the way everyone wants to- to the loud CLANG, CLANG, CLANGing of leo working on something in his room.

"leo!" six voices called at once, three male and three female. 

the clanging stopped. "SORRY!"

will laughed lightly, glancing down to make sure nico was alright. after... certain incidents, loud noises made nico feel very unsafe. but, to his surprise and relief, his boyfriend was completely fine- breathing softly, his eyes shut, hands resting a few centimeters from his nose.

he was laying on his left side, allowing for full view of the white, puffy line drawn from the far side of his cheek to the base of his nose. he was wearing a loose shirt- one of will's old flannels- to hide his chest, since will wouldn't let him sleep in a binder.

("it won't do THAT much damage, will!" "you said that about shadow walking with leo on your back, and look how that ended up!")

will reached forward, gently running his index finger along the scar on nico's cheek. nico flinched in his sleep, mumbling something about how long hair gets stuck in lip gloss.

nico lay in a peaceful, silent slumber as will simply admired. he removed his hand from nico's face, simply watching nico as he slept. it wasn't often that the boy looked so at peace.

after he lost bianca, the only person in his family who knew him- like REALLY knew him- he wasn't the same. he became obsessed with finding out more about his mother. it.. it crushed him when he came to understand that maria di angelo would never accept him for who he was.

and after that, the curse of achilles, the titan war, jason showing up, percy disappearing, all the personal things he had to balance along with that... gods, will couldn't imagine.

nico is only sixteen. will knows that. but most of the time he just looks so.. old. and, yeah, technically he is, like, eighty-six, but that's not what will always observed. it wasn't an ELDERLY kind of old, it was... a sad kind of old. 

it's the type of old you would use to describe the remains of pompeii, or a little girl's journal you find in a town long abandoned. not elderly, just wistful. hopeless, quiet.

i mean- this poor kid is learning how to drive when he looks like he's graduating from college in may. dark patches scarred the areas beneath his eyes, and his face and skin was sunken slightly. he was so thin he looked sickly, his greasy black curls grown out and chopped haphazardly, his hands boney and constantly lightly shaking.

will sighed. "you poor boy," he whispered, laying back down beside him. slowly, gently, will wrapped his arms around nico's waist. nico stirred, wriggling around in will's loose grip so that he was facing his boyfriend. once he was, he shoved his face into will's chest. a sound similar to a hum came from the sleepy boy, and will smiled.

"sleep well, darlin'." he whispered, moving one hand up to cradle nico's head as he closed his eyes.


End file.
